Questions and Answers

By Dennis Lantz

I've had many people ask me questions about my books... and I enjoy talking about them. Because I live in a rural area with unreliable wifi connections, I can't do a Facebook live Q&A event. This is the closest I can come. (I answered the following questions as if I were responding to such a format.)  

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Has any author ever published three ‘debut’ novels practically all at once?

I don’t know. It’s definitely not common. It’s likely someone has self-published their first three novels at once. Or put out three children’s books or short stories or novellas. But having my first three novels come out within weeks of each other is quite exciting. I'm proud of it. 

Many authors have published two or three novels at the same time, but they usually use pseudonyms for some of them. Publishers used to do only one book per author per year because they didn’t want to saturate the market or burden the reader. Each book was allotted only so many marketing dollars. Today’s publishing world is different.

What motivated you to write these stories?

Each is different. When I started Zander’s Tale I hadn’t written anything in a long time. It was begun as a writing exercise. I wanted to hone my skills. Knock of the rust, so to speak.

Spiders started out as an idea. A hunting competition based on primitive and modern weapons. I wanted it to be a thriller with the main character witnessing a murder and then getting hunted. I’d already written my first version of Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus and thought it would be fun to include genetically modified mutations in the hunting story.

Pine Street was different. I actually brainstormed ideas that I thought would have commercial appeal. I wanted something imaginative and fun. I don’t know if it will ever be made into a movie, but I came up with concepts that I thought were visually interesting.

What is your favorite? Which are you most proud of or identify with?

I’m proud of all of them and I like each of them for different reasons. But I identify most with Spiders. That is the most personal to me. I incorporated many of my personal experiences and inner beliefs into that novel. It’s a story about freedom and liberty. It’s about survival. It’s about fighting against the evil that infiltrates authoritarian societies.

Were they written in the order they were released?

Sort of. Well, Zander’s Tale was first. Then I wrote a long version of Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus. I had plans to self-publish Zander and look for an agent or publisher for the circus story. I tried to market it, but it was too long. While attempting to find an agent, I wrote most of Spiders. Before I finished Spiders, however, I decided to make Pine Street into a series. I worked a lot on developing that while writing Spiders. So I guess I would say that Spiders and The Mighty Mutation Circus were written simultaneously. I alternated back and forth on them for a while.  

Why did you change Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus?

When I thought I was finished with it, it was over 144,000 words. And I kept reading that a debut novel had to be around 80,000. Words cost money to print. I read several articles on the subject. I believed that the rejection I was getting from agents was due to its length. Even though none of them ever said that.

So I edited it. I chopped it down to the bare bones. And it was still 130,000 words. I started playing around with the idea of turning it into two or even three books. But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. You can’t just cut it in half and call it two books. Each book has to have its own plot development and climax. They have to be readable and stand on their own.

If someone said they could only buy one of your novels, on that particular day, which one would you recommend?

That depends on what type of book he or she would be interested in. Each of my stories is different. If they like adventure I would recommend Zander’s Tale or Pine Street. If they wanted a bit more dystopian, I’d say Spiders. If they like series stories, then obviously I would tell them that Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus is going to be a trilogy.

Will different readers be attracted to your books?

Yes, I think so. Some will like them all. Zander’s Tale and Pine Street are almost Young Adult, but Spiders is not. Spiders was written for adults. Having said that, I am sure that some younger people will read it. I enjoyed books with adult characters when I was a teenager.

What do you mean that Zander’s Tale and Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus are almost Young Adult?

I don’t understand the classification exactly, but they have young main characters. They also have some violence. I don’t think that excludes them from Young Adult category. But I also believe adults will enjoy them as well.

You say that Pine Street is going to be a trilogy. How did you come up with the number of books?

When I wrote the original, long version, I didn’t intend for it to be more than a stand-alone novel. When I considered breaking it into multiple novels, I brainstormed for more ideas. I thought multiple books would allow me to develop some more characters and I could include some scenes I had clipped from earlier drafts. There were just so many good ideas that I couldn’t put them into two books… it had to be more. And when I reworked the story in the first and second book, I added elements that could only be resolved in a third.

Pine Street and the Mighty Mutation Circus takes place in the same world as Spiders… but you say that they are not equally dark or dystopian… how is that?

Spiders takes place at the height of a tyrannical government system. Several years pass before the world of Pine Street and the system isn’t quite as repressive. It still is dangerous and authoritarian and there is still government-induced fear, but it isn’t as tyrannical.

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Periodically, I will have more Q&A in this blog. When my website is up, I will post them there.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live